The Rio Ceira Bridge in Portugal

One of the largest infrastructure projects of the country is currently under construction in the Portuguese region of Pinhal Interior. The two most important axes of this project are the connecting roads between the towns of Tomar and Coimbra from South to North and the extension of the connection from Pombal towards the west to Vila Velha de Ródão. With a total length of 520km, this major project will reduce travel times by more than 40 % in the affected regions.

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One of the most important components of this construction project is a new bridge that crosses the Ceira River near Coimbra in a very deep valley. At its highest point, the bridge is located 140 m above the river bed. The construction of the bridge was very challenging because it crosses several other municipal roads in addition to National Road No. 17.

Rio Ceira Bridge is 930 m long

The Rio Ceira Bridge is 930 m long. The bridge deck consists of two different structures: The 250 m long main span with a width of 26.4 m was built as a prestressed hollow box girder using the balanced cantilever method. The access viaducts consist of two prestressed reinforced concrete bridge decks with a double T cross section that were built span by span using a launching gantry.

1,450 t of prestressing steel were used

In order to balance the vertical plane curvature of the bridge during construction, asymmetric loads were counteracted by DYWIDAG Post-Tensioning Tendons that were anchored in the pier foundations and connected to the top of the bridge deck. Once the individual segments of the box girder deck had been connected, these temporary tendons were removed. 1,450 t of prestressing steel were used for this purpose.

Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção S.A. is DSI's exclusive partner for DYWIDAG Strand Post-Tensioning Systems in the Portuguese market. Thanks to a supply plan that had been prepared by both companies, DSC Spain was able to ensure punctual supply of the post-tensioning systems at all times within the tight schedule.

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